Genealogy #70: Genealogy 2.0

well, i learned that i don't really look like any celebrity... not really a suprise there... that and i don't own a single decent picture of myself to compare to anything. i finally managed to get the celebrity morph to work for me i couldn't get any of the other apps to work. i don't really like the celebrity collage or morph apps because i find them to be very user UNfriendly... though that may just be me, but i have no intentions of ever using that program again. on footnote i saw that many people have timelines, on their footnote pages, but i don't know what the timelines were for as it didn't look like any of them have any pertinence to the person who posted the footnote. but at any rate i wasn't really impressed with the program. in conclution, out of all the different programs that we've reviewed in the geneology ihcpl posts i think the only apps i'd use in the future are heritagequest or ancestry.com... mabe, i kinda found these sites to be a little confusing to use, but there you go.

Genealogy #69: Database Researching

well i was not very successful in finding family members on ancestry or heritage, but it's my own fault that i wasn't... i think middle names and dates of birth are key factors in the success of finding who you're looking for. it's amazing how many people have the same last name even when it's an uncommon last name. since i didn't have middle names or DOBs, so i found a lot of people who i have no idea whether i'm related to them or not. i think what i need to do to keep this confusion from happening is get a little background info about whoever i'm searching for first. so the more detail and information you have (i.e. DOB, 1st, middle, and last name, place of birth, and date of death), the better search results. i did find my dad's birth certificate and my parents marriage certificate so that was kinda neat.

Genealogy # 68: Detective Work

while i've never pursued an oral history project before myself, i find the concept of oral history and the different examples i've heard of it extremely facinating. i don't think i would actually put together a project of my own, but if i did i think i would do it on my bofriends dad he has a lot of really interesting stories about his life and family. but anyway, i picked a random cemetary in texas, it's in mckinney and is called pecan grove cemetary, here's the info on the oldest grave listed there.


Allison, Robert D. b. September 25, 1810 d. December 5, 1900
Civil War Confederate Army Officer. Served as a Colonel in the United States Army during the Mexican War. After the war with Mexico he was elected to the Tennessee State House of Representatives. During the Civil War he served as Colonel and commander of the 20th Tennessee Cavalry, and as Colonel of the 26th Tennessee Infantry. He was wounded 6 times during the conflict. After the the war he settled down in McKinney, Texas, serving as a Town Judge until his death at age 90.
Pecan Grove Cemetery, McKinney, Collin County, Texas, USA
Plot: Block 32

pretty neat huh?

Genealogy #67: Genealogy Genesis

i've never actually researched my family history, but i've always wanted to find out more about where my family came from and how long we've been around. all i know is that i'm 4th generation U.S. born on my dad's side and 3rd on my mom's... i think. anyway i'd probably start out buy talking to family members to find out what they know. i know my 2nd cousin on my mom's side has done a lot of reseach and has pictures and all sorts of goodies, so i can find out alot from her, but my dad's side will be more difficult so i'll start there first since it'll be more difficult. i'm not sure where, how, or from whom i may be able to get pictures and documents from but i guess i can start with my grandmother, see what she has and ask her if she can make copies and either email them to me or mail them. then as i get more information i'll organize it and start inputing the info on some of those geneology sites listed previously. hopefully i won't hit to many snags, but if i do i'll figure something out. it's important to know your family history, or if nothing else then at least you family tree.

Crafts & Hobbies #63: Digital Scrapbooking

phew, it's been so long since i've embeded anything in my blog i'd forgotten how to do it. so my scrapblog is on the sidebar to view, it was really easy to use use can just connect your flickr or whatever account to scrapblogger and upload whatever pictures you want to edit and fix up however you please it actually took longer to try and figure out how to embed the program in my blog than it took to actually do the picture editing and whatnot. as far as actually using the program in the future, i don't think i will. i've never been into scrapbooking, i find it tedius and dull, i'd rather just have a plain old picture album thankyou very much. my sister on the other hand loves scrapbooking (why i'll never know, but whatever) so i fully intend to forward these sites for her use. she'll love it and go nuts over it.

Crafts & Hobbies #62: Decoupage

decoupage... frankly it sounds like a made up word to me, but it's really interesting the typres of things you can make. when i looked at some of the pictures they gave me a lot of ideas for different craft i'd like to try out. i figure i'll start out small i can take some picutres from the nightmare before christmas and decoupage something together for my bathroom... plaque, mabe a trash can or a shelf... haven't quite decided yet. i also really like the suitcase idea i saw on flickr and have some ideas for that, but i'll try something small first just to get the hang of it. this is definatly something i'd like to get inot though i find it all really neat.
i ran across this one on flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/61965501@N00/sets/72157594188491734/

i'd really like to make something like this for my bathroom sometime:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_2&listing_id=21954146

but it will probably be a while till i can make something as nice as these examples.

Crafts & Hobbies #61: Craftspiration!

well, i tried looking at some of the things on pimp stitch, and while some of them look somewhat interesting, i think it would be a better idea for me to learn how to sew first... which is on my to-do list my mom said she'd teach me and everything, your never to old to learn from you mom. the site i really liked was onehourcraft.com they've got all sorts of cool stuff i'd like to try out, especially the "how to make fizzing bath bombs" tutorial. i actually plan to try that one out. http://www.onehourcraft.com/?p=858>
it looks really easy. as far as media sources go, i like thecraftschannel, i'm more of a visual learner(visual as in i have to see it done with explainations) i've never been able to do a craft just by looking at pictures in a book or reading about it so thecraftchannel is really helpful for people like me and i think i may even use it.